"That's Hapi. You can remember her name because she's rarely smiling," Yuri gestured. The woman in question made a hand gesture about what he could do with that introduction.
Catherine nodded. "She's the one from Faerghus, right?"
"Yup!" Hapi shouted back as she walked away. "I'm a goddamn patriot, for sure!"
"She's not fond of the country," Yuri explained.
"I gathered," Catherine replied dryly.
They turned, looking at the other side of the cathedral as cleaning was underway. "That's Constance. She's former nobility, but she'll tell you plenty about that herself. Just ask for her life story, she'll tell you it nearly unprompted."
"Leclerc, you really ought to mind your opinions, you might find yourself choking on them sometime," Constance growled and notably didn't deny it.
"I kid!" they blatantly lied.
Constance huffed and walked away to continue supervising repairs.
"And finally," Yuri said, turning for a third time to the largest wolf.
"That's Balthus. They say that money is the ultimate corruptor, so I suppose that means he's the purest damn soul in the world."
"Hey!"
"Go back to moving your rock," Yuri said.
Balthus grumbled and proceeded to pick back up the utterly massive boulder that should not have been able to be lifted. Though, Catherine mused, she'd been on the receiving end of his strength. Perhaps it was fathomable.
"And that's us. It's good to have you here, Catherine," Yuri said. "I'm sorry about how our meeting went down, but I do truly mean that it's good to have you here with us. I've heard plenty of stories about Thunder Catherine."
"I'm sure some of them were even true," she chuckled half-heartedly. "You seen Ignatz anywhere? I wanted to talk to him about something."
As they shook their head, Hapi chimed in from across the cathedral. "Big Ig's squatting in the dining hall, I think."
Shouting her thanks, she turned to Yuri. "Does she have nicknames for everyone?"
Yuri smiled. "Give it time, you'll have one before long. There's no end to them."
Sighing, Catherine shook her head. "Looking forward to it."
For all she heard about their argument, Ignatz and Yuri were working well together. In no time at all, they'd decided to begin monastery repairs and begin assembling the Abyss army together. Yuri had gotten an in with the leader of the Alliance and Ignatz got Claude the army he needed. In a way, they were each other's dream come true.
And then there was Catherine. She and Byleth just helped with the manual labor. Let the schemers plot, she hadn't the patience for it.
The dining hall was empty sans Ignatz, who hunched over a table. Paper was scattered about as he wrote messages to Claude, Lorenz, all his contacts. Catherine was familiar it all, but she hadn't a mind like Claude to track it all. Or a mind like Ignatz', she supposed.
"Got room for one more?" she asked, not waiting for an answer and sitting down.
"Oh, hello Catherine. Taking a break? I was actually about to come find you." He folded up a sheet of paper and set it aside, giving her his full attention.
"Well, you got me here," she said.
Ignatz nodded. "I've been sending out a lot of letters, most to the Alliance. But I've also contacted our Archbishop."
She blinked stupidly. "Rhea?"
"Oh, no," he replied, sheepish. "I should have anticipated that. No, Seteth. Last time I saw him, he wanted me to get in touch if—when we mounted a campaign against the Empire. His injuries prevent him from a lot, but not being leader of the Church."
"Claude's holy war, right?" Catherine asked.
"We have the Church on our side, it'll certainly drum up support in the Kingdom, much less the Empire. I've told Seteth it's time. But that raises another issue. One you'll hate."
"Oh, fuck you, Ignatz," she said, knowing immediately what he meant.
"There's no one else!" Ignatz protested. "I know you don't want it, but what choices do I have? Flayn? She's not material for it, and Seteth would never hear it. Manuela? Hanneman? We don't even know where those two are."
"Find someone else," she growled. "One of the Deer, I don't care. Just not me, I won't be responsible for that."
"Fine, who do you suggest?" he shot back, humoring her. "Claude and Lorenz are out."
"Ferdinand."
"As if you could pry him away from Claude and Lorenz. And he's former Empire. He's loyal to us, I'm not disparaging that, but they don't know him like we do."
"Leonie, then. Or Hilda. You saw what she did five years ago, she could."
Ignatz shook his head. "Leonie struggles enough as it is, I'm not going to force this upon her because she'd say yes. Protecting, training soldiers, that's what's best for her." He paused. "Hilda is…possible, I guess. I hadn't considered her. Though she doesn't command the respect you do."
"Fuck respect!" Catherine shouted. "I'm not a leader. I can barely take care of myself, much less others."
"Alois had said told Seteth he wanted you as his successor should he die." Ignatz closed his eyes. "And he's been dead for five years. The Knights of Seiros need a captain, Catherine. If there was another option, I'd jump at it, but we're not exactly brimming with people we can trust."
Her shoulders sagged. "What about Byleth? Couldn't she do it? Take her father's place?"
Ignatz opened his mouth to protest and stopped. Then, "That actually isn't a terrible idea. The Goddess' chosen leading her order of knights, taking the place her father held? That could actually work."
"Thank the Goddess."
"Provided she agrees," Ignatz said.
"Oh, so she gets a choice and I don't?" Catherine was shouting again. "I spend five years guarding your ass, and that's it?"
Ignatz slammed his fist on the table. "It's because I've known you for five years that I'm pushing you! I know what you're capable of, Catherine. Whining like this, that's not the woman I respect. The woman I care about wouldn't let the memory of Shamir hold her back."
Catherine flinched. "Don't say her name."
"I miss her too, Cath. She was important to me too." His voice dropped lower. "And that's why I don't give up. I have to be my best, that's what she would have wanted. She'd have wanted that for you too."
She stood up from the table. "I'll think about it," she retorted, beginning to leave.
Ignatz didn't say anything. He nodded and watched her leave.
"You lied to him. For me," Byleth said.
Yuri looked back at her from the statues of the four saints in the cathedral. They had, somehow, been spared the calamity that wrought Garreg Mach.
"So I did," they said. "Better he hate me than you."
"Why?" she asked.
Yuri chuckled. "Thought it'd be a nice thing for a friend to do. You care about him, figured I could do you the favor of it."
"You didn't have to—"
"I know. But the friends I keep number on one hand and I consider you one of them." Yuri smiled. "I wanted to. I might have thought to only use you when we first met, but I consider you a friend now."
Byleth rolled her eyes, though she felt her heart warm at the words. "As if that would stop you from using me."
He laughed. "Guilty, guilty. I'm far from perfect, I guess."
"Thank you," she said. "I know I'll need to tell them the truth, but…"
"Why did you stay?" Yuri asked. "I never actually asked you. They're your friends, your family, from the way you talk about them. Why stay here with us when you could be with them?"
Byleth sat down on the stone floor. "I mean, I genuinely wanted to take you up on your offer, to give Claude Abyss as an army. But seeing them all, I think I was just afraid."
Yuri said nothing, waiting for her to continue.
"Four years is a long time, yeah?" she reasoned. "What if they moved on? I thought that would hurt."
"Staying away would just make it hurt more," Yuri murmured.
Byleth snorted. "I never said I made a good decision."
He laughed at that. "So long as you're aware, I suppose." They paused, glancing around for eavesdroppers. "That bit about Rhea, was that true?"
She nodded. "I fought a horde of demonic beasts and killed a lot of them. But I was dead to the world after, a hairsbreadth away from dying. I remember her finding me, telling me she was going to put me into some magical sleep."
"Did she say where she was going?" they urged.
"No," she said. "I barely remember it as it is."
"Damn," Yuri said. "We could use her, she'd unify the continent easily. I suppose this means we have to do it ourselves."
"Ambitious," she said dryly.
"Me? Never," Yuri chuckled.
"How is he?" Sylvain whispered as Ingrid shut the door behind her.
She cast a look back at the door. "He's…better than he was, but there's a long way to go."
Margrave Gautier nodded. "Go get some rest, Ingrid. I'll watch over him."
Ingrid nodded. "Sylvain, have we any word from Galatea? My father?"
He grimaced. "No, I'm sorry." They'd received word days ago that the city had fallen to the Empire. That left Gautier and Fraldarius.
"I see," she said, as if expecting so. "If you'll excuse me."
She left and Sylvain sighed. Even the good news, the return of their king, was muddled with bad. At one point he'd thought they stood a chance at taking back Blaiddyd, Rowe, all of it. But each passing day damned them further and further.
Woe be him, for his only hope was Claude's plan. It's not like they could do much else but be a pain in Edelgard's ass while Claude prepared. Delay the Empire, Claude had said. Buy me time to wage a war, he'd plead.
But as days trickled by, Sylvain had become all too aware of just how little time was left for the Kingdom of Faerghus.
He opened the door, stepping into Dimitri's room.
It was squalid, kept in the corner of the Gautier estate, where the servants lived. None would think to look here, giving the man time to recover. In his condition, seeing his soldiers would do more harm than good.
Dimitri sat on the small bed, torso wrapped in bandages. He'd starved in the dungeons of Fhirdiad, that was clear. His own body had cannibalized itself, devouring even his muscles to keep him alive.
When Sylvain looked upon Dimitri, he didn't see their King of Lions. He saw a man in pain.
"Hey, Dimitri," Sylvain said. "Sorry I haven't visited, it's been a busy few days."
He said nothing, staring at the ground. Sylvain sat down beside him.
"Dimitri, I—"
"I need to train."
Sylvain blinked. "Wait, Dimitri, what?"
He turned to lock eyes with Sylvain. "I will kill her. I will kill Edelgard."
The eyes that bored into him weren't that of his friend. No, they were those of a lunatic. "Dimitri, you're in no condition to do anything."
"I. Don't. Care," he ground out. "I am going to kill that two-faced bitch." He stood up, slowly. One of his bandaged hands grabbed the corner of the bed frame, steadying himself. "I don't care if I die doing it, so long as it is done."
Sylvain stood. "Dimitri, you will die."
He turned on Sylvain quickly, growling. "Good," he said.
Lorenz watched the ships come into port without enthusiasm. He stood on a bridge, water rushing into the city underneath. As a child, he'd come here to do what he did now, except all those years ago he took more joy out of it.
A child didn't see trade ships and wonder what political ties had been forged to bring that cargo. They didn't think about the weapons that were hauled for foreign wars. Then, it was just boats. Boats bringing the new, the strange, the exciting from wherever they originated from.
"You ever wish you could be a child again, Raph?" he asked, sighing.
The recently returned Riegan trademaster nodded. "Yeah, I miss my parents. Thinking back to being a kid, it reminds me of them. Happier days."
"I'd drink to that," Lorenz murmured.
"Hey, I heard what happened. The city's afire with gossip about it." Raphael turned to him, leaning on the bridge's railing.
"Yup," Lorenz said, popping the 'p'. "I'm a commoner now, just like you."
"Well, the Lorenz I met at Garreg Mach would have combusted at the thought of being a commoner," Raphael mused. "Seeing as you're still here, I call that improvement."
Lorenz said nothing.
Raphael scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry, too soon for jokes. Dunno why Claude picked me to follow after you when he heard the news."
"That man needs to take a nap, not worry about me," Lorenz said. He might have been angry, but there was no emotion left in him to tap.
"Let's go for a stroll," Raphael suggested. "C'mon, a walk through the city will take your mind off things."
Lorenz nodded, following Raphael's big frame as they entered the bustling flow of traffic. His big frame made the crowd part naturally, taking some of the attention away from the former noble.
"How was the trip?" Lorenz asked after a few minutes of walking.
"Oh, gosh, it was great!" Raphael exclaimed. "We set up the last of the watch towers. Barely even had monster problems."
Lorenz blinked in surprise. "Already? I thought the mountain route was still months away from being safe?"
"I know!" Raphael said gleefully. "But we've got guards manning the towers and patrolling. It's as safe as it can get. The Merchant's Guild is hoping to get people regularly using it within the next year."
"That's fantastic, Raphael," Lorenz said. "Congratulations. I know how much work you put into this."
He blushed, laughing. "Well, it wasn't all my work. Leonie helped out plenty too, same with Ig when he was around. It never would have happened without them. And the war."
Lorenz chuckled at that. With the Alliance not trading with the Empire due to their war with the Kingdom, Leicester was strapped for resources. The Kingdom was hardly a breadbasket, especially once the western, more fertile, territories were seized.
If only there was a vast, plentiful country bordering the Alliance besides those two.
Trading with Almyra had been a tough sell. But money talks, as Ignatz told them. With the promise of gold, riches, and exotic commodities from Almyra, the merchants of the country were on board with financing a trade route between the countries. It passed through the mountains, far too narrow for armies to efficiently navigate through, but easily enough for caravans and travelers.
The Alliance got resources the people needed. Almyra got access to what their country was too hot to grow. The brilliance of it was the lack of downsides. Surely some would emerge, but Lorenz tried not to dwell on that. Instead, he focused on that they had done good.
"Is Maya enjoying it out there?" Lorenz asked.
"Are you kidding? My sister loves it. Always wanted to travel. Setting up shop in Almyra will be good for her," he said. "Hope she's good with languages, though."
Lorenz chuckled as he pulled Raphael out of the throng of people, taking them down a quieter street than the main thoroughfare.
"Has word gotten out about who my father has named his heir?" Lorenz asked quietly. "When you heard the gossip about it."
They arrived at the end of the street which stopped at the water, ending in a small dock for gondolas. They both sat at the edge of the pier, feet just shy of touching the water.
"Not that I heard of. General consensus is that old man Gloucester will remarry." Raphael picked up a piece of stone that had come loose from the street and tossed it lazily into the water.
"He's naming Lysithea his heir."
"He what?" Raphael gasped.
"Ordelia technically hasn't been annexed by the Empire yet," Lorenz said. "She's got a Crest of Gloucester, apparently."
"Woah, woah, slow down there, you gotta walk me through this slowly."
"Ordelia strengthened its ties with the Empire right before the war began," Lorenz explained. "They were removed from the Roundtable just as battle broke out at Garreg Mach. The Empire moved troops there across the river to be a deterrent from us siding with the Kingdom, but it's still an Alliance territory."
"Yeah, I know all that," Raphael said. "Ig explained all that to me when it happened."
Lorenz rolled his eyes. "So the Ordelias are still part of the Alliance. Legally, my fath—Count Gloucester can name her a successor. She somehow has our family's Crest, he's alleging she was born out of wedlock. A scandal, sure, but stronger defense against us."
"Wait, defense?" Raphael asked. "What do you mean? I've been gone, I haven't heard this part."
He stared at the water for a moment, picking up his own piece of stone and tossing it into the ocean. "It means," Lorenz said, "I was going to assassinate my father, succeed him, and bring the Alliance together. Now he has someone to take his place loyal to the Empire and presumably him."
Raphael gaped.
"Spare me the speech about it being shameful," Lorenz muttered. "Claude and Ferdinand already lectured me on patricide, I don't think I can tolerate it again."
"I—" Raphael stopped himself. "I don't know what to say."
Lorenz nodded. "Yeah, that sounds right. Doesn't matter now, though."
"Well, could you kill both of them?" Raphael flinched at his own words.
A shrug answered him. "Sure, but killing Gloucester wasn't exactly something I had a plethora of moral qualms with. Parentage aside, the man's scum. I had made peace with that. But Lysithea? She's…"
"A good person?" Raphael asked.
"She turned her back on us," Lorenz said, "but I never thought she was a bad person. Childish, immature, but not evil. Perhaps that's changed in five years, though. Not like we've heard much about her since."
"I've been gone too long," Raphael murmured. "I leave for a year and you're talking about killing your father. Lorenz, I ain't letting you do that to yourself. Parents are a complicated subject, but they're still your parents."
"Even if it would mean saving people's lives? Staving off the hatred for our neighbors that this country holds?" Lorenz waved a hand, sighing.
"I'm not good at this kind of reasoning," Raphael admitted. "Claude's the one for that. Maybe Mercedes and Dorothea too. I'm not smart enough for that."
"That's not true," Lorenz said.
Raphael waved him off. "It is. But that's not the point. I still understand feelings. I miss my parents, not a day goes by where I want them back." He locked eyes with Lorenz. "You might hate your dad, but he's still your dad. You kill him, there's never a possibility of repairing that relationship."
"Would I even want to?" Lorenz asked, more to himself than Raphael. "I can tell you I don't want to now."
"Sure, but what about in five years? Ten? You're not old, Lorenz," Raphael said. "Opinions change."
Lorenz said nothing.
"Hey, let's get going. Pretty sure the reason Claude sent me after you was to drag you back for a meeting." Raphael stood up, holding out a hand for Lorenz.
He took it, pulling himself up. "Thanks, Raphael." It wasn't for the hand.
Raphael understood. "Hey, your dad might be a jerk, but you're still my family."
"That means a lot, thank you," Lorenz said with a smile.
"Thank you for meeting me on such short notice," Claude said, offering a small bow.
Alister von Edmund waved it off. "Think nothing of it, Claude. One shouldn't reject the leader of the Alliance."
Margrave Edmund had invited Claude into his library. Books lined the walls, crammed so tightly into shelves that someone like Raphael would be needed to take them down. Claude sat in a chair on the other side of the humble reading desk Alister sat at, though humble for a Margrave certainly stretched the word.
"Leader? I don't know about that." Claude laughed. "I'm just Duke Riegan."
"Of course, forgive me," Alister apologized good-naturedly. "I suppose when you give Leander such a verbal lashing, I can't help but respect you a bit more."
"Oh? And here I thought you were neutral," Claude said with a grin.
Alister smiled. "Politically, yes. But Leander is a fop, I won't be so uppity to not enjoy seeing him be taken down a peg." He folded his hands and rested his chin atop them. His hair was down instead of tied up, framing his face dark as the sun rose to noon outside. "But, loath as I am to change the subject, I don't think you're here to talk about Leander."
"I am. Well, partially." Claude leaned forward onto the table. "I want to talk to you about war."
Edmund frowned. "I thought such things were not your platform?"
"You know, Holst told me the same thing," Claude said. "But he came around. I'm not gonna lecture you, you're smarter than that. When the Empire annihilates the Kingdom, we're next. That's not a matter of debate."
Alister nodded. "You're correct. It concerns me. But your solution is to declare war on the Empire?"
"Hit 'em first, hit 'em fast," Claude said. "They're focused on the Kingdom, not us. We could take Myrddin and Ordelia without much struggle if we hit them now. Then they put the heat on us and my allies in the Kingdom can hit back. I want to turn this into a two front war, see how the Empire likes that."
"And, pray tell, why do you come to me?" Alister asked. "Holst, I understand. He is of military fame. Me, I am an orator. A communicator. What use am I to this lofty goal?"
"I need your vote. Your army and the northern territories as well, but your vote is most important for when I take this to the Roundtable. I have mine and Goneril's, so I need a third."
"At least you're transparent about it," the Margrave chuckled. "And how do you deal with Gloucester and Albrecht? A simple vote isn't going to endear them to your cause."
A good question, better even now that his plans were ruined. "You leave that to me. A showman is not one to show his hand early."
He snorted, nodding. "How very you, Claude. Still, I cannot pretend I do not agree with you. I don't particularly like the idea of letting the Empire walk over us." His eyes narrowed. "But you must understand, my position on the Roundtable isn't quite as stable as yours. You and Gloucester, no matter the proposals you push, you will remain. Myself, Albrecht, we have much more tenuous connections. We're new. Making an enemy of Gloucester is not particularly in my best interests, no matter the goal. I cannot help if I am removed."
"You won't be removed with House Riegan on your side," Claude argued. "Trust me, I look out for my own."
"A fair argument, but perhaps you could do me a favor to show me that. Do this for me, you'll have my vote."
"And that would be?" Claude asked.
Alister von Edmund smiled.
"My wayward daughter, it's been so long since I've seen her. I know she arrived in the city yesterday with her wife. I keep tabs on her. I should like her to come home for a spell." Alister's smile was far more victorious than pleased.
Claude's stomach knotted. "Marianne is one of my closest aides. I need her at my side to make this war work, she's instrumental to our work."
"I am not asking for months of her time. Just a short visit. Adopted she may be, but she is family. I miss my daughter," Alister said. "I know I am a busy man, which is not conducive to being a great father. But when she ran away to Garreg Mach, I was…hurt." He paused, drumming his fingers on his folded hands. "And to not have seen her in five years? You must understand, Claude, as a parent that is a cruelty."
"It's been a tumultuous five years," Claude said diplomatically.
"Oh, I do not dispute that. But, well, my daughter has wed and I was not in attendance." His fingers stopped. "I was so very disappointed in that. A parent would like to at least meet their child's partner before they wed, no?"
"I cannot make any decisions for—"
"Tell her to bring Hilda along," Alister invited. "I'd love to hear from both of them how their tour of the northern territories went. They moved a bit too fast through for me to be able to find them."
"I will pass your message along," Claude said, feeling sick.
"Thank you," Alister said. "I trust you'll let her know just how important my vote is. Do this for me, Claude, and you may take the Edmund resources and use them as you see fit. By all means, put my soldiers under Holst's command. He's more a general than any people I have in my employ." He waved a hand dismissively. "If there is nothing else?"
Claude took a long, hard look at the man, then shook his head. "No, that will be all."
Alister nodded. "Good."
Author Notes: I said once in an author note that Claude's gramps was the grossest character I've ever written. I revise this statement to Alister.
Got to use Big Ig as a Hapi nickname finally. A bit of a joke between one of my readers and me. Told ya I'd use it, Cookie.
A little audience participation time! I had a lot of fun letting yall name Claude's wyvern, so I wanted to do something similar that will ideally have not one single selection for me. One of the parts of this fic I adore most is taking characters that you wouldn't think would ever talk and give them a scene to just chat. So my question to you, readers, is what pairs of characters do you wanna see chat? My only requirement is that they don't interact regularly. So Lorenz and Claude would be a no-no (since they'll be talking plenty as time goes on). It boils down to, who are you interested in and who do you want to see more of? So gimmie some odd combos (like the time I put Dorothea and Leonie together to talk about homesickness). If you give me characters who aren't presently together in location, then scenes might happen down the road.
If you're interested, go ahead and drop me a pair or two. If not, then continue on as you were. I'll try to do one suggestion from each person who comments.